objective while the effects of folic acid are well established in prevention of neural tube defects (ntds), these diseases have a high prevalence in iran. in order to encourage folic acid supplement use in pregnancy, it is important to promote the awareness of women of childbearing age regarding folic acid importance in preventing ntds. the aim of the present study was to study the knowledge an...

ABOUT THIS RESEARCH BRIEF This ASPE Research Brief was written by Brian Goesling and Joanne Lee of Mathematica Policy Research as part of an ongoing systematic review of the teen pregnancy prevention literature. Since 2009, Mathematica and its partner, Child Trends, have conducted the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Evidence Review under contract with HHS. The review aims to identify, assess, and rat...

PURPOSE To describe coalition membership, examine associations between coalition processes and short-term coalition outcomes, and assess the relative contribution of key coalition processes to perceived accomplishments in teen pregnancy prevention coalitions. METHODS A self-administered survey was distributed to active members of 21 teen pregnancy prevention coalitions in 13 communities. The ...

BACKGROUND Adolescents in the United States and globally represent a high-risk population for unintended pregnancy, which leads to high social, economic, and health costs. Access to smartphone apps is rapidly increasing among youth, but little is known about the strategies that apps employ to prevent pregnancy among adolescents and young adults. Further, there are no guidelines on best practice...

Steroid hormones have been in use for more than a half a century as contraceptive agents, and only now are researchers elucidating the biochemical mechanisms of action and non-target effects. Progesterone and synthetic progestins, critical for women's health in the US and internationally, appear to have important effects on immune functioning and other diverse systems. Apart from the contracept...

BACKGROUND Programs for integration of family planning into HIV care must recognize current practices and desires among clients to appropriately target and tailor interventions. We sought to evaluate fertility intentions, unintended pregnancy, contraceptive and condom use among a cohort of HIV-infected women seeking family planning services within an antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinic. METHO...

ABOUT THIS RESEARCH BRIEF This ASPE Research Brief was written by Brian Goesling of Mathematica Policy Research as part of an ongoing systematic review of the teen pregnancy prevention literature. Since 2009, Mathematica and its partner, Child Trends, have conducted the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Evidence Review under contract with HHS. The review aims to identify, assess, and rate the rigor of ...

OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of missed opportunities for congenital syphilis and HIV prevention in pregnant women who had access to prenatal care and to assess factors associated to non-testing of these infections. METHODS Cross-sectional study comprising a randomly selected sample of 2,145 puerperal women who were admitted in maternity hospitals for delivery or curettage and had atte...

CONTEXT Swedish law permits abortion at the request of a pregnant woman until the 18th week of gestation. However, the extent to which the decision is truly the woman's own is subject to debate; women are often influenced, directly or indirectly, by the attitudes of their partners, family and friends or by social norms. METHODS Individual in-depth interviews about the pregnancy and the aborti...